WVU 5-Peak Cycle

This cycle was developed in 1994 by the Vehicle Emissions Testing Laboratory at West Virginia University. The WVU 5-Peak cycle (or Truck cycle) was designed for general truck chassis testing. The cycle consists of five segments, each with an acceleration to a peak speed, followed by a brief steady state operation and then a deceleration back to idle. The five peak speeds are 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 mph, respectively (Figure 1).

Figure 1. WVU 5-Peak

The following are characteristic parameters of the cycle:

Duration: 900 s

Driving distance: 5 mile

A modification of the above cycle existed, known as the “WVU 5-Miles Route”. In the modified cycle, the vehicle accelerated to each steady speed using the highest possible acceleration. The driving distance, time, and steady state speeds were the same on both cycles.